The California Department of forestry and Fire Protection
estimates that a single tree that lies for 50 years provides about $200,000 worth of services to its
community. These services include providing oxygen ($32,000), recycling water and regulating
humidity ($37,000), producing protein ($2,500), controlling pollution ($62,500), providing shelter
for animals ($31,000), and reducing erosion ($31,000). Each year, the average tree takes in about
12 kg of carbon dioxide, an amount equivalent to that emitted by a car on a 7,000 km trip. The
tree also releases enough oxygen to keep a family of four breathing for a year. Planting three or
four trees around every house would save 10%-50% on air-conditioning bills. The average tree
planted today along a street in New York city lives only about 7 years. In New Jersey, anyone
found guilty of cutting down a white oak tree can be fined up to $1,500 and pay a "replacement
fee" of up to $27 per square inch of tree. This means that someone convicted of cutting down a
white oak 75cm in diameter and 1.5 m tall would have to pay - in addition to the fine - a
replacement fee of $19,085.